T 860 ISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION ST. LOUIS 1904 



.Gl P85 
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AVSTRLAN GoVER^Etfr 

Paviuon 






Emperor Frsncis Joseph 



B B B LOUISIANA B B B 
PURCHASE EXPOSITION 



B b THE AUSTRIAN b a 
GOVERNMENT PAVILION 

- - DESCRIBED BY ORDER OF THE - - 
IMP. ROYAL MINISTRY OF COMMERCE. 



A - 



JAN 11 ^905 
D, ofD, 



OTTO MAASS' 
SONS, VIENNA. 



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INTRODUCTION. 

The exhibition in the Austrian Government Pavilion is of 
an essentially representative character* As it was not possible to 
arrange a general Austrian exhibition at the World's Fair, covering 
all branches of human skill and invention,*) the Government 
resolved to organize an exhibition, which in a few prominent 
features — the works of several branches of public administration 
on the one side and of fine arts on the other — would present 
to the visitor a faithful picture of economical and intellectual life 
in Austria* 

The venerable old Empire, whose vigour has remained intact 
through so many centuries in all contests at home and abroad, 



*) Austrian Sections are to be found* nevertheless, in the Buildings for Manufacture. 
Liberal Arts and Agriculture* 



will in this manner be able to proclaim her existence at the 
universal review of peoples and nations on the other side of 
the ocean* 

At the same time, the august wishes of His L and R* Apostolic 
Majesty Emperor Francis Joseph L whose likeness adorns this 
little book will thus be complied with. 



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PAVILION AND DIVISION 
* * * OF ROOMS, * * * 

The Austrian Government Pavilion is 60 meters long and 35 meters 
wide and built in T form* From the transepts a middle aisle, 24 meters broad, 
extends to the building line* On either side of the aisle exits lead to the 
loggias and to the lawns* The pavilion is built of wood, and all the rooms 
have skylights. The style of architecture and decorations is modern with a 
classical toning. The exterior of the building is faced with a grayish yellow 
coloured gypsum shaded with gold, dark blue and light green. 

Two groups of figures — above life size — adorn the main porch of 
the central building. The Imperial coat of arms with a crown, surrounded 
by a large wreath, is raised above the centre of the pavilion, and to the 
right and left two sphinxes crown the gables. 

The central building (garden-front) is finished off with two enormous 
square pylons with festoons and masks and decorated with all the coats of 
arms of the Austrian crown lands. Four stela bearing gilded busts are 
symmetrically placed along the front of the flower-beds in which monumental 
fountains have been erected. 

As can be seen from the annexed ground plan the interior of the 
pavilion is divided into fifteen rooms. 



To the left and right of the entrance hall which is adorned with a 
marble bust of the Emperor are the official apartments one of which is 
meant as a library and reading room, and the other as a reception room. 
Beyond the entrance hall is the Technical exhibition of the Ministry of Rail' 
ways, which likewise occupies the room on the left hand side for its exhibition 
"Sceneries and People of Austria". 

The hall to the right is devoted to the department of the Ministry of 
Commerce for the Building of Waterways. At the back part of the middle aisle 
a large hall is devoted to the exhibits of the professional Art schools and 
two smaller ones show interiors executed by the Schools for Arts and Crafts 
in Vienna and Prague. The fine art exhibits of the Vienna Artists' Association 
and of the Association called "Hagenbund" are on the right of the transepts; 
the pictures of the Bohemian and Polish artists on the opposite side. 

Before briefly describing the characteristics of each section, according to 
the order of the rooms, a list must be given of the artists and artisans who 
have taken part in building and decorating the Austrian Government Pavilion. 

The plans of the whole building, the entrance hall, the two halls of 
the Ministry of Railways, and the hall containing the exhibition of Waterways 
have been designed by the chief architect Oberbaurat Ludwig Baumann, 
Joseph Meissner substituting him in the superintendence of the works. 
(Contractor: J. Lecoeur). 



The library has been designed by Leopold Bauer, architect, and the 
architect Joseph Plecnik has designed the reception room. 

The plastic on the outside of the building has been delivered by the 
sculptor Othmar Schimkowitz. The figurate frieze in the library is the work 
of the painter Josef En gelhardt. The painter Ferdinand An dri has executed 
the frescos on the facade, and Heinrich T o m e c those in the department for 
water-ways. The Emperor's bust, which is made of Laaser marble, and which 
has been executed in the workshop of the Tyrol Marble and Porphyry Company 
(Fritz Zeller) Laas (Tyrol), is a copy of Prof. Strasser's model. 

The relief "Empress Elisabeth'' (Allegory) in the reception room is by 
the late Rudolf Weigl, sculptor. 

Sandor J dray has been entrusted with the Interior decorations and 
fittings. The carpets have been delivered by J. Ginzkey, Maffersdorf, and 
the ornamental locksmith^work by Alexander Nehr. 

The mosaic and artistic glass work have been delivered by Max 
Freiherr v. Spaun and Johann Kappner, the fancy needlework by Carl 
Giani, the inlaid work (Intarsia) has been carried out by Michael Kehl, 
Josef Duchoslav, Franz Makienec. and the bronze works by Johann 
Hastach, Carl Kratky, J. Schubert and A. T. Lange. 



TECHNICAL EXHIBITION OF THE 
* * MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS. * * 

Austria is the home of European Alpine railways; the oldest, the 
Semmering railway, constructed 1848 — 1854, lies on the South Railway 
main line from Vienna to Trieste and is the first mountain railway con^ 
ducted exclusively on the adhesive principle. Then followed the Brenner 
railway (1864—1867), the shortest railway communication between Central 
Germany via Tyrol to Italy (Verona), and the Arlberg railway (1880—1884) 
which opened up the route via Tyrol and Vorarlberg to the west (Switzer^ 
land and France). 

An extensive system of alpine railways in course of construction (the 
Tauern, Karawanken and Wocheiner) will establish a new connection be^ 
tween the Interior of Austria and the port of Trieste, Four great panoramas 
in the Exhibition showing the above-mentioned alpine railways bear witness 
to Austria's prominence in this special field of railway technic. There are also 
plans of these lines, photographic views of buildings and of the tracks of the 
first three mentioned lines which are in full working order. The lines in 
course of construction are further illustrated by models of tunnels, scaffoldings, 
foundations of arched bridges ; and also an electric boring machine. A view 



of an arched bridge (with a span of 80 m) over the Isonzo (Littoral lands 
of Austria) with statical calculations and charts of the largest vaulted bridges 
ever built, and photographic views of the working in the Karawanken and 
Wocheiner Tunnels. Among the other exhibits in this department may be 
mentioned a model of the ground-work of the Austrian State Railways for 
express trains, photos of the Imperial Court train and of the newest loco- 
motives and passenger-carriages of the Austrian State Railways, as well as 
plans for iron bridges, ground-work, locomotives and passenger carriages of 
the State Railways. The work published for the Emperor's Jubilee "History of 
the railways of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy" together with a number 
of other publications on the statistics, pedagogy and technics of railways 
are exhibited. Finally there is a chart of the railways of the Austro-Hungarian 
Monarchy on a scale 1 : 1,000,000. 



SCENERIES AND PEOPLE 
* * * OF AUSTRIA, * * * 



For a long time the Austrian Ministry of Railways has set itself the 
task of drawing the attention of the travelling public to the beauties of 
the scenery and ethnographical charms in which Austria abounds and thus 
inducing them to visit the country. To gain this end the Ministry has issued 
various publications, has opened inquiry offices and arranged exhibitions. 
The exhibition "Sceneries and People of Austria" in the government pavilion 
at St. Louis has been arranged with the co-operation of several artists 
for the same object. The exhibit principally consists of a collection of 
views of the most beautiful parts of Austria, especially the Austrian Alps, 
and pictures of Austrian national life. Photographs taken by the best 
photographers as well as a number of artistic amateur photos representing 
the most important travelling districts in Austria, (99 in all) have been 
enlarged and reproduced as pigment prints or linographs. Two series of 

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photographic prints are also exhibited ; the one consisting of Austrian castles 
and strongholds, and the other of various favourite alpine resorts. Further 
a selection of alpine and travelling works in luxurious editions are shown. 

The whole exhibition is finished off with a collection of 14 pictures of 
costumes and sport, arranged like a frieze, and illustrating special Austrian 
national scenes around the top of the wall. 

Finally four bronze statuettes viz: "Chamois-hunter", "Alpine-tourist", 
"Ski-sportsman", "Alpine dairy-woman" have been placed in the room as 
decorations. 



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WATERWAYS. 

The exhibition of models, plans and photographs of the existing and 
projected canals for deep draft ships arranged by the Department of the 
Ministry of Commerce for the Building of Waterways offers a general view 
of the whole network of the Austrian Waterways comprising those of the 
Danube, Moldau and Elbe Rivers, together with the system of canals. 

The largest Austrian river the Danube, which flows through the Country 
from West to East having a course of 348 km, is well adapted for tug traffic; 
the iron tug boats generally used having a drawing capacity of 650 t. 

The beautiful landscape of the river sides is shown by means of views 
of the Danube, contained in an album, whilst the plans, photographs and 
models exhibited by the ''Danube Regulation Commission" show the river 
courses, the harbours in Lower Austria and Vienna, as well as the con^ 
structions for regulating the water level in the Vienna^Danube Canal. 

The second great waterway is the Moldau and the Elbe running from 
South to North. On that part of the Elbe flowing between Aussig and the 
frontiers (a length of 38 km) the greatest amount of traffic is done and 
amounted in 1901 to about 4,000,000 t or 150,000,000 TKM. 

In order to secure unhindered communication for tugs of 900 t 
drawing capacity on the Elbe between Aussig and Prague during the period 

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when the Elbe is open, it was decided to construct canals along this stretch 
of river (Aussig— Prague 122 km long) with a minimal depth of 2*1 m 
thus providing a navigable route for large ships right into the heart of 
Bohemia. The work of construction carried out by the "Commission for 
Building Canals on the Moldau and Elbe Rivers in Bohemia" was com- 
menced in 1897, and the models, plans and pictures exhibited by this 
Corporation show various stages of construction and the appearance of the 
works finished, whilst a map of Prague hanging on the wall shows the harbour 
and canal construction works, some finished and others projected in the 
precincts of the town. The drawings and photos exhibited in the corner of 
the hall by the "Aussig^Teplitz Railway Co/' illustrate the position and traffic of 
the harbour of Aussig which is the most important inland harbour of Austria. 
The network of navigable canals . for joining rivers together was 
provided for by Act of Parliament in 1901 and the "Administration for the 
Building of Waterways" so far furthered the preparation of the plans and 
designs for the construction of the different canals, that the work on some 
parts can be commenced this year. The charts in addition to giving a view 
of the position of the canals and rivers, with canals projected, show also 
longitudinal sections of the Danube^Oder Canal, which is the work to be 
taken in hand next, as well as some specimens of difficult engineering 
construction. 

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EXHIBITION OF THE IMPERIAL ROYAL 
* * PROFESSIONAL ART SCHOOLS. * * 



The exhibition of the state professional Art schools, arranged by the 
Imperial Royal Ministry of public Instruction, Vienna, gives an idea of the 
work done by these institutions. These schools send out skilled workmen 
after giving them artistic and practical training in all branches of decorative 
art, fecundating practical work with artistic ideas and in this manner raising 
and furthering the standard of arts and crafts of the country. 

The exhibition is arranged in three divisions, the first two containing 
the exhibits of the schools for Arts and Crafts in Vienna and Prague (the 
largest of their kind in Austria), and the third the work of the other pro^ 
fessional Art schools. 

The decoration of the two interiors of the Schools for Arts and Crafts 
Vienna (Director Felizian Freiherr v. My r bach) and Prague (Director 
Georg Stibral), as well as all the objects exhibited in these divisions have 

14 



been designed at the above institutions, and (as far as the schools possess 
workshops) executed by the pupils. A part of these objects has been entrusted 
to skilled craftsmen for execution. 

The organization of the "collective exhibition" of the other professional 
Art Schools has been entrusted to the Inspector of these schools, and Hofrat 
Arthur v. Sea la, Director of the Austrian Museum, Vienna. 

The designs for the interior decorations have been prepared by the 
head of the Educational Supply Department at the above mentioned museum, 
and the details worked out by the department itself. The interior and the 
exhibits themselves have been executed in the workshops of 46 different 
professional Art schools with the co-operation of the pupils. 

The illustrated catalogue of the exhibits of the Imperial Royal pro* 
fessional Art schools contains full details of this exhibition and gives a 
general view of the organization of Technical Education in Austria. 



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FINE ARTS. 



As may be easily understood it is a rather difficult task in a large 
country, even at home, to offer a comprehensive insight into the conditions 
of fine arts. 

Many works of art have been created for certain surroundings from 
which they cannot be removed without suffering in their artistic effect. 
Other works have passed into private hands and are scattered far and wide 
and for different reasons are not to be had for sending on a long journey. 
At the outset, therefore, the idea had to be given up of offering at the 
St. Louis Exhibition, to any extent, a complete picture of the Austrian Art 
of the present day, the more so as the diverse nationalities of Austria make 
the art of this country one of the most manifold and varied of the civilised 
world. 

It has nevertheless been possible to get a considerable number of 
works together which give, at least, a fairly good idea of the abundance of 
Austrian art. 

Two groups of rooms have been placed at the disposal of Austrian 
fine arts ; one hall with annexe in the General Art Building and four halls 
in the Austrian Government Pavilion. 

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A part of the exhibits of the Vienna Artists' Association is to be 
found in the general Art Building, and the rest r as well as those of the 
Artists' Association "Hagenbund" and the Bohemian and Polish Artists, 
are placed in the Austrian Government Pavilion. 

The Vienna Artists' Association was founded in 1861, and has at 
present 356 "ordinary members", 104 "extraordinary members", and 
numerous supporting and corresponding members. The association is 
exhibiting 154 paintings, engravings, pen and ink sketches, and sculptures. 
The Association "Hagenbund", which was founded in 1901 devoting itself 
specially to cultivating Austrian Fine Art, has at present 49 members and 
is exhibiting 42 paintings, etchings, sculptures and a few publications. 

The exhibitions of the Bohemian artists (41 pictures) and of the Polish 
artists (50 paintings, plastics and graphics) have not been arranged according 
to any division of different groups of artists. 

In some rooms also art^handicraft work of the respective groups of 
artists can be seen. 

Catalogues of the Austrian Works of Art can be obtained gratis in 
the Austrian Government Pavilion. 



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LOUISIANA PURCUA5E. EXPOSITION 51 LOU'.S W4. 
AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT PAViUOn. 




CUI^F-ARCUTCCT L DAunAnn 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



019 930 626 1 • 



